trusting older brothers
by belle parole
Summary: Regulus feels like he's drowning, and then he feels nothing. When Regulus wakes up, he registers that he's in a bed.


_for the quidditch league, round 10, holyhead harpies, write about regulus black living_

_thanks to ev for betaing!_

_1255 words by gdocs_

* * *

Regulus feels like he's drowning. He feels like his insides are burning and he can't see anymore, and he feels slimy hands reach out and grab him, and he can feel water fill his lungs.

He can't breathe.

He doesn't know when he dropped the goblet, but he realizes that his hands are empty as he desperately tries to get away, to get to the surface. The hands keep pulling him back.

He hears a _crack_, and he feels the hands retreat, and then he feels nothing.

…

The ground underneath him is wet, Regulus registers. Or maybe that's him. His hair is damp, at least, and it's covering his eyes. He tries to blink them open, but once he realizes that he still can't see, he lets them fall shut again. Weakly, Regulus tries to move his arm to push his hair out of his face, but his limbs feel like spaghetti.

"Well, good morning," a voice calls, and Regulus' ears buzz. The voice seems so familiar, yet Regulus can't think of anyone he'd be with.

Maybe he's dead.

"Kreacher?" he manages to croak out, the only person he could think of that would be with him.

"Nah, that little shit brought you here and left," the voice says again. The floor creaks from Regulus' left, and he opens his eyes, again, trying to glimpse through the strands of his hair. When he tries to turn his head, it hurts, but he can make out a figure loom above him. The figure reaches out their own hand and pushes Regulus' hair back.

With eyes full of confusion and concern, Sirius stares back at Regulus.

Regulus blacks out again.

…

When Regulus wakes up, he registers that he's in a bed. The room he's in is dark. Dimly, he wonders if he ever left his room, if maybe going and replacing the locket with Kreacher was just a dream.

As his eyes adjust to the dark and he sits up, he realizes that the room he's in is smaller than his room at home. The decor is vastly different, the walls being a muted red instead of his own dark green. It also seems more comfortable than his own room. There's a large chair in one corner of the room, with books piled up around it. The rug on the floor is white and fluffy, and the bed is layered with blankets.

Forcing his limbs to move, Regulus slides out of the bed and creeps towards the door. The last thing he remembers is incredible pain, and then waking up to his brother hovering over him. He doesn't feel quite as hurt as he remembers being, but his body still feels stiff. As his stomach lets out a growl, he realizes that he's also quite hungry.

The door creaks as Regulus turns the knob and pushes. He's greeted with a short hallway, leading out to a small dining room. In the middle of the dining room, there's a circular table, and two people are sitting at it with their heads down, whispering to each other. One of them is Sirius. His black hair is longer, and he's older than when Regulus saw him last, but it's his brother. The other man looks smaller than Sirius, with sandy hair and a small frame.

They haven't noticed him yet, Regulus realizes, as he begins to walk towards them. The sandy-haired man looks up first, and the first thing Regulus notices are the scars lining his face. He tries not to show any reaction to them, but they look bad, he realizes.

Sirius meets Regulus' eyes next, and they hold eye contact for a three-count before Sirius pushes back his chair with a loud scrape.

"Good, you're awake," Sirius says, pulling back an empty chair and gesturing to it. Regulus closes the distance between them and gingerly sits down at the table.

"Um," Regulus says, as his stomach lets out another growl.

"Food," the stranger says, looking over at Sirius.

"Food!" Sirius repeats, spreading his arms. There's an edge of nervousness to his voice, and he seems to move all too quickly to the little attached kitchen. Regulus watches Sirius scramble around before the stranger grabs his attention.

"Remus," he says, holding out a hand. After a beat where Regulus registers, _oh, that's his name_, Regulus grabs it and shakes.

"Regulus," he replies. Remus nods at him quickly.

"I've heard about you," he tells Regulus, and Regulus raises an eyebrow, glancing back at Sirius.

"Why am I here?" he asks slowly, turning back to Remus. Remus opens his mouth, hesitates, and then closes it, glancing over at Sirius. With a frown, Regulus amends, "_Where_ is here?"

"This is Sirius and I's apartment," he answers, nodding slowly. Regulus bites his tongue. After another glance towards Sirius, Remus lowers his voice and asks, "What do you remember?"

"I," Regulus begins, trying to figure out what to say. He doesn't want to tell this stranger about Voldemort's Horcruxes — even if he's a friend of Sirius's; he wouldn't even want to let _Sirius_ know. "I was doing —" his eyes dart around — "something. And then I blacked out. I woke up on the floor and Sirius was above me and I passed out again. I just woke up in a bed, here," Regulus tells him. It's not _lying,_ he reasons. He's just not telling the _full truth_. Remus nods, looking thoughtful.

They're both quiet for another few minutes until Sirius comes back into the room, carrying a few plates. He places one in front of Remus and another in front of Regulus, and he takes a seat in between them.

"Pasta," he says, looking at Regulus and frowning. Regulus looks at Sirius, and then looks at Remus, who's also looking at him. He glances down at his plate, aware of their eyes on him, but his hunger wins and he starts to dig in.

"Regulus," Sirius says, after a few moments of watching his brother eat his food. Regulus looks up, dumbly aware that it's the first time his brother's said his name in three years.

"Yeah?" Regulus says, letting his fork drop. Sirius' eyes harden and he frowns, searching Regulus' face.

"Kreacher brought you here," he states. Regulus shifts in his seat. "He said you were hurt, and that you made him promise not to let —" Sirius hesitates, and he breaks eye contact with Regulus as he says, "You made him promise not to tell your parents." It makes Regulus feel funny, inside, for Sirius to renounce their parents. He can't blame him, he supposes. Sirius looks back at him, and Regulus doesn't know what to tell him.

"Yeah," he says, finally, glancing at Remus before looking back at Sirius. "I was —" Regulus breaks off, because, yeah, he survived the cave with Kreacher, but he's still going to die if he tells Sirius about this.

"What were you doing that I can know but Mum and Dad can't?" Sirius asks, clenching his jaw.

Regulus takes a breath. He knows that by letting anyone know about what he's found out, he's dooming them as well as himself. He also knows that Sirius, ever since they were little, has been fighting for the right thing. Sirius is his _older brother_. He thinks that if anyone can possibly help him, then maybe it's Sirius. And he also knows that he needs help. Badly.

With another shaky breath, Regulus decides to let him in.

"Have you ever heard of a Horcrux?"


End file.
